The earliest known iron meteorite
A 4565 Myr old andesite from an extinct chondritic protoplanet
The formation and nature of the primordial crust generated during the early stages of melting is poorly understood, due in part to the scarcity of available samples.The newlydiscovered meteorite erg chech 002 (ec 002) originates from one such primitive igneous crust and has an andesite bulk composition.It derives from the partial melting of a noncarbonaceous chondritic reservoir with no depletion in alkalis relative to the photosphere and at a high degree of melting of around 25 percents.The 26al-26mg crystallization age of 4,565.0 million years (my) is the oldest known piece of an igneous crust with a 26al-26mg crystallization age of 4,565.0 million years (my).Partial melting took place at 1,220 c up to several hundred kyr before, implying an accretion of the meteorite parent body ca.
